UK's May agrees £2.5bn NIreland support package in return for 10 DUP votes

Embattled UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday agreed a £1.5bn financial package for Northern Ireland in return for the 10 parliamentary votes of the region's hard right Democratic Unionist Party to help prop up her minority government.

The deal is not a formal coalition, but the unionists will pledge their votes on a "confidence and supply" basis. The financial package is a range of new pledges worth £1bn in addition to £0.5bn alreadt guaranteed by central government.

May inked the deal after a meeting with DUP leader Arlene Foster and other party figures at Downing Street. In a statement, the two parties agreed that "support on other matters will be agreed on a case-by-case basis".

As part of the deal the triple lock guarantee of at least a 2.5% rise in the state pension and winter fuel payments were retained throughout the UK - both had been under threat in the Tories General Election manifesto.

The DUP will also support the government on Brexit-related votes and anti-terror measures, according to the communique.

"I welcome this agreement which will enable us to work together in the interest of the whole United Kingdom, give us the certainty we require as we embark on our departure from the European Union, and help us build a stronger and fairer society at home. In the interests of transparency, the full terms of this agreement have been published," May said.

May is clinging on to power after losing her parliamentary majority in the June 8 snap election. The deal has attracted widespread criticism due to the DUP's anti-abortion and anti gay rights position.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn slammed the deal and demanded the government explain how it would meet the financial commitments given to the DUP.

"Austerity has failed. Cuts to vital public services must be halted right across the UK, not just in Northern Ireland," he said.

"The government must immediately answer two questions. Where is the money for the Tory-DUP deal coming from? And, will all parts of the UK receive the much needed additional funding that Northern Ireland will get as part of the deal?"

"This Tory-DUP deal is clearly not in the national interest but in May’s party’s interest to help her cling to power."

There was also anger north of the border when it emerged that Scotland would not be given any extra funding proportionate to that of Northern Ireland.

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, called the arrangement a "grubby, shameless deal" that showed that "the Tories have shown that they will stop at nothing to hold on to power - even sacrificing the very basic principles of devolution".

"By ignoring the Barnett formula, Scotland will be missing out on an estimated £2.9bn in funding for our public services - that is the price to Scottish taxpayers for the Tories to stay in power. This breaks the very principles that underpin devolution and the funding settlement the Tories pledged to protect."

The Barnett formula is a system of grants that dictates the level of public spending in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Extra funding - or cuts - from Westminster are allocated according to the population size of each nation and which powers are devolved to them.